This Week in NFL Incompetence: Week 8 – Peak Chargers

Philip Rivers is a national treasure. He put bolo ties on the map, he’s got a whole freakin’ troupe of children and he makes the bestdamnfaces in all of football, Mannings be damned. Because he’s never won, well, anything really and because he plays for a vagabond franchise, he doesn’t get the credit he’s due as one of the best quarterbacks of his generation. It’s a shame that the Chargers’ incompetent ownership has squandered such a bright talent, wasting the prime years of Rivers’ career chasing profit margin instead of wins.

Then again, as the losses have piled up over the years, it’s not like Rivers himself has been totally without blame. He’s got a tendency to aggressively force the ball into tight windows, resulting in a fairly prodigious number of interceptions. Even in games where his teammates are clearly to blame for a loss, Rivers manages to inject some of his own flair into the proceedings.

That self-induced fumble came on a third down in Sunday’s game against the Patriots and, frankly, is utterly hilarious. Naturally, the Chargers lost to New England by a touchdown.1 Would converting that third down instead of fumbling for no reason have won the game for the Carson Chargers? Probably not, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt their chances. But “hurting their chances” is pretty much the Chargers entire organizational philosophy at this point, so I can only assume that this morning management is applauding Rivers for adhering so tightly to the company line.